Tunisia+(Annalisa+&+Youssef)

= Tunisia = __ A Look at the Nation __ ** Demographics ** · Religion o 98% are Muslim o Small amounts of Jewish and Christian · Race o 98% are Arab or arabized Berber o Small population of Berbers · Ethnicity o Arab/Berber 98%, Christian 1%, Jewish and other 1%

· Median age of Population o 15-64 years: 70.5%

· Male/Female o 15–64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

** Geography ** · Conditions of the Land o The north is fertile and south is dry, the Atlas Mountains divide this area. Mid area rises up to a plateau. Hundreds of miles line Tunisia’s Mediterranean Coastline. o 17% is fit for agriculture another 13 is for permanent crops. o (Citrus) oranges and olives are major crops.

** Economic Resources:  ** · Imports: o Oil, Phosphates, iron, Textiles · Exports: o Agriculture: mainly olives, dates, grain, dairy products, fruits and vegetables. o Textiles o 80% of all exports go to Europe · Jobs: o Farmers, factory workers, jobs in the textile industry, tourism o Well educated workforce o Many are jobless · GDP o Tunisia’s GDP is 43.86 billion dollars. Growth rate is 3.0 percent o 14.66 trillion. Growth is 2.8 percent o This means that Tunisia is has less money than the United states, but it is growing at a faster pace.

** Political structure ** · Type of Government: o The government is a republic. This tells us that the people living there are supposed to have a say in what is going on in the government. The decisions are made with the people’s consent in mind. · Who can vote? o Both males and females over the age of 18 can vote in Tunisia · Elections are held every five years

__ History __ Events leading up to protests: 1. 28 December 2010 - Tunesian Police have used batons to disperse a demonstrartion in Tunis, the capital, calling for jobs in a show of unity with youths protesting in poorer regions.

2. 4 January 2011 - A young Tunisian attempted suicide by setting himself on fire; this sparked a rare wave of violent protests in several areas of the country. He died a few days after the attempt.

3. 6 January 2011 – The cutting of the internet made the people rather angry at the government and they wanted their freedom of expression.

4. 1 February 2011 – Protests in Tunisia left 200 dead and made Ben Ali resign from power, his leaving inspired the anti-government protests.

__ Legitimacy of the Current Government: __ The people of Tunisia were angry because some of the 5 purposes of government were not being fulfilled.

Arbitrary arrests, control of the print media and Internet access, and physical attacks on journalists and human rights and opposition-party.

1. Common defense: The government is still protecting the people from outside attacks.

Their military is still functioning as usual.

2. Solving Conflicts: The bad decisions of the government are causing riots and fights to break out. People are getting badly hurt and some even killed.

3. Public services: The government in committed to providing public services, but they are unbalanced. For example, they provide good education, but about 25 to 30 percent of university graduates are jobless.

4. Economic Decisions: The Tunisian leaders aren’t making very good economic decisions because there is unemployment and very high, unfair food prices that are causing protests. There is also an unbalance in businesses. Most businesses are along the coast, causing those in the central areas less chance to have a job.

5. Protection of rights: The government was not protecting the people’s rights. Things such as control of media and internet, arbitrary arrests, and physical attacks on protesters and journalists are all examples of ways the government is not protecting the rights of its people. They do this because they do not want word to get out about protests.

__ Snapshot of Current Uprising __

** Who Revolted? **  · Most protesters were: o Younger o jobless or with a bad-paying job o lower class o opposed the acts of the government.

** Why did they revolt? **  · People were unhappy with: o Unemployment – Many people inland were jobless because most money came from jobs on the coast o Food inflation – the prices of food went up, making it harder to feed families o Government corruption – the president’s relatives were given prosperity, and they suppressed anyone who objected them o Lack of freedoms, especially freedom of speech – internet and media censorship was very common · Revolution was the only way to make things change because government would oppress any efforts for change.

** How did they organize? **  · The revolution was not planned · People found out about the revolution through social networks such ace Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogs. · A few people have hurt themselves physically to send a message and to show that they were unhappy. For example, one electrocuted himself and another set himself on fire. · Demonstrations such as these caused more protests to break out.

** How did the people overthrow the government? **  · There were many protests and demonstrations · The use of media was very common to tell of the government’s wrongness.

** How did the government respond? **  o In response to protests, the government is mainly tying to cover up the fact that protests are happening in the first place by censoring media and internet. o The leaders are also using force and violence to try to get the country in order. In some cases, this is causing protests and riots to get worse.

** How was the government the same or different following the revolution? **  · The revolution is still going on today.  · If successful, the revolution can change the way the government is currently being run.

Below is a video showing what has been going on in Tunesia during the revolution: media type="youtube" key="X-yckWsjXBg" width="425" height="350" align="center"

Works Cited Alexander, Christopher. "Tunisia's Protest Wave: Where It Comes From and What It Means for Ben Ali | The Middle East Channel." //The Middle East Channel | FOREIGN POLICY//. 03 Jan. 2011. Web. 04 Apr. 2011. .

BBC News. "BBC News - Tunisia Protests against Ben Ali Left 200 Dead, Says UN." //BBC - Homepage//. 01 Feb. 2011. Web. 05 Apr. 2011. .

CultureGrams. "Tunisia." //CultureGrams Online Database//. Culturegrams, 2011. Web. 04 Apr. 2011. .

Ryan, Yasmine. "Tunisia's Bitter Cyberwar - Features - Al Jazeera English." //AJE - Al Jazeera English//. Aljazeera, 06 Jan. 2011. Web. 04 Apr. 2011. <http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/01/20111614145839362.html>.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Spencer, Richard. "Tunisia Riots: Reform or Be Overthrown, US Tells Arab States amid Fresh Riots - Telegraph." //Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph Online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph - Telegraph//. 13 Jan. 2011. Web. 05 Apr. 2011. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/tunisia/8258077/Tunisia-riots-Reform-or-be-overthrown-US-tells-Arab-states-amid-fresh-riots.html>.